#Africa Social Media Management

[sammydigitaleu]

[dandelionsresilience]

Dandelion News - November 8-14

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1. Agrivoltaics for sustainable food, energy and water management in East Africa

“[… C]ertain crops […] thrived under the partial shade provided by solar panels. The shade also helped to reduce water loss through evaporation, leading to more efficient water usage. Additionally, rainwater harvested from the panels could be used to supplement irrigation needs.”

2. The world’s largest wildlife crossing is now standing in California

“The structure crosses a 10-lane freeway and has been built to help protect all sorts of wildlife[….] And it’s not just for fauna: some 5,000 plants grown from seed collected within a five-mile radius have been nurtured in two specially created nurseries. The bridge will be topped with wildflowers, shrubs and native grasses that will also benefit insect populations.”

3. Judge rules the military must cover gender-affirming surgery for members' dependents

“[Judge] Torresen found that [gender-affirming] surgery is indeed medically necessary and that the Defense Department had not shown that any important governmental interest was advanced by denying the coverage.”

4. Social Media Can Boost Caracal Conservation

“The team found that searches on the species doubled after the project [using “social media to educate about the caracal”] launched. […] ”The research demonstrates how a public interest in urban ecology and the global phenomenon of ‘cats on the internet’… can be harnessed to leverage conservation action.””

5. US Labor Board Bans Captive Audience Meetings to Ensure 'Truly Free' Worker Choice

“[T]he National Labor Relations Board on Wednesday ruled that employers cannot force workers to attend anti-union speeches. [… W]orkers will no longer have to take part in so-called "captive audience meetings," which employers often use as a union-busting tool and a form of coercion.”

6. Study links grazing with plant phenology and abundance

“In general, plants where caribou or muskoxen were present experienced earlier green-up and greater abundance later in the growing season. “We're used to thinking of the timing of plant availability as impacting the productivity of grazing animals, but not the reverse," Post said.”

7. Frog populations once decimated by disease mount a major comeback

“"These results provide a rare example of how reintroduction of resistant individuals can allow the landscape-scale recovery of disease-impacted species, and have broad implications for amphibians and many other taxa that are threatened with extinction by novel pathogens."”

8. California Announces Special Session To Protect Trans People

“Newsom’s directive is clear: safeguard reproductive healthcare, support immigrants, and shield LGBTQ+ people from what is viewed as existential threats to civil rights and democratic norms. […] California has a unique opportunity to set the blueprint for other states in resisting a Trump administration[….]”

9. When ‘OK, Boomer’ Means ‘Let’s Go Protest’

“Youth activists across the country recognize the efforts of their eco-minded predecessors and welcome them as mentors, role models, and collaborators in their battle against the climate crisis. […] “The idea that Boomers don’t care, he said, is “just misinformation.””

10. How Aussie Waste Warriors are Redirecting Excess Food to Those in Need

“A growing movement is working to reduce perfectly good food going to waste by redirecting it to homes and charities. [… C]haritable organisations [… are] transforming fresh produce that would otherwise have gone to waste into millions of cooked, nutritious meals for people in need each year.”

November 1-7 news here | (all credit for images and written material can be found at the source linked; I don’t claim credit for anything but curating.)

[justinspoliticalcorner]

Ilana Berger at MMFA:

Right-wing media ramped up attacks on the Biden administration’s hurricane recovery efforts in southern Appalachia after President Joe Biden announced $1 billion in humanitarian aid for Africa. On December 3, Biden became the first president to visit the African country of Angola, where he announced new aid “to address food insecurity and other urgent needs of refugees, internally displaced persons, and affected communities in 31 African countries,” according to the United States Agency of International Development.  According to Oxfam, a federation of international nongovernmental organizations addressing global poverty, “more than 24 million people in southern Africa face hunger, malnutrition and water scarcity due to drought and floods.” Oxfam also described southern Africa as a “climate disaster hotspot.” Earlier this year, FEMA was the subject of right-wing attacks falsely accusing the agency of squandering disaster relief money on immigrants, preventing victims of Hurricane Helene from accessing aid, and even seizing the land of people whose homes had been destroyed. Conspiracy theories about government weather manipulation also circulated online. 

Right-wing media falsely accused the Biden administration of favoring Africa over hurricane-stricken communities in the U.S., reviving harmful FEMA misinformation

Hurricane relief funding requires congressional approval and is separate from foreign aid and immigration spending, but Fox News has continually suggested otherwise. Top-rated hosts like Jesse Watters and Sean Hannity led the charge in repeating false claims that money allocated for disaster relief went to helping immigrants, but the Federal Emergency Management Agency maintains separate funds for those two purposes. In October, senior congressional correspondent Chad Pergram posted on X (formerly Twitter) that Fox News had obtained a GOP memo saying there is “no funding connection between” the migrant shelter program and the Disaster Relief Fund. Similarly, none of the humanitarian aid for Africa is coming from FEMA. Foreign disaster aid — like that being directed to Africa — typically comes from USAID and the State Department. [Media Matters, 10/11/24, 10/10/24, 10/9/24, 10/9/24; Council on Foreign Relations, 10/23/24; usaid.gov, 12/3/24]  

Right-wing media misinformation about FEMA’s actions in southern Appalachia was followed by violent threats against FEMA personnel on the ground. Misinformation about the responses to hurricanes Helene and Milton — ranging from accusations that FEMA is actively keeping aid and donations from hurricane victims to conspiracy theories that the government used weather manipulation to target certain populations — surged across social media platforms in the weeks after the hurricanes. In October, FEMA workers in both Rutherford County, North Carolina, and Carter County, Tennessee, faced threats of violence from armed civilians. [Media Matters, 10/18/24, 10/9/24, 10/10/24]  

While there is still work to be done helping victims in southern Appalachia, the federal response has been more robust than right-wing media claim. According to NC.gov, “over $244 million in FEMA Individual Assistance funds have been paid so far” in western North Carolina. According to FEMA, “The National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP), administered by FEMA, has paid policyholders over $1.4 billion for flood losses stemming from Hurricane Helene recovery” across affected states. [NC.gov, 11/20/24, fema.gov, 11/27/24]  

In reporting on Biden's trip to Africa, right-wing media ignored Biden’s recent request from Congress for billions more in recovery funding for impacted states. In November, Biden asked Congress for roughly $100 billion in emergency disaster aid to help North Carolina and other impacted states, including $40 billion for FEMA’s Disaster Relief Fund. [CNN, 11/18/24]

Right-wing media back on their lie-fueled attacks on Hurricane Helene recovery efforts.

[mesetacadre]

what exactly makes a map beautiful/interesting/nice to you? really curious about your criteria :3c

good question :). The aesthetics of a map is very strongly correlated with the quality of the information it conveys. Most of the time, there is a compromise to be made between looking good and putting the information clearly and correctly. A lot of those mappers online who focus on good-looking maps tend to lack a lot of information or downright be unusable as maps. So the sweet spot are those handful of maps that do manage to have that balance, or to skillfully incorporate information into the aesthetics. The account verygoodmaps (on all social medias) is a good example:

To be completely honest though, topographical maps are probably the easiest to do both useful and pretty, because it's colors, shadows, and labels, mostly. So I would like to see verygoodmaps go outside topography every once in a while (and while they're at it, make more maps of Africa and Asia instead of the third go at US states). They did make one golf course map, which isn't technically topographic, but come on.

It's barely a step above topographic maps in terms of the complexity of information to be shown, and although it is well executed, golf is probably the worst sport in existence so yeah.

Another thing a lot of maps do that I don't like is showing exclusively the subject of the map, blanking out everything else. That map I linked above, about Myanmar's population, is an extreme example of this, removing literally everything except the data points. But it is quite common for, say, a map of a country, to remove everything that isn't that country, making it look like an island. I prefer it when maps don't do this, as it removes some context. Especially since administrative/political borders are quite literally Made Up and don't really divide territory in neat and sensible geographical units, making a hard line and removing everything outside seems quite stupid to me.

Outside of topographical maps, thematic maps have a massive range of posibilites, and with those, information synthesis and selectiveness are very important things to have. Especially if you want to use the geographical component of data to come to a conclusion by analizing the data, because that usually requires incorporating more than 1 type of information within geographical space. For example, if you wanted to reach conclusions about quality of life between different districts of a city, you could choose to represent water & electricity access, density/location of clinics and hospitals, the quality of the roads, the connections to the public transport system, even comparing it to election trends broken down to individual streets. And what's even harder, of course, is making it legible or even nice to look at.

This is a linguistic map for the word «horse» in the northern Scandinavian peninsula + Kola peninsula. The information on display here is astonishing in its detail, but it looks like shit, the symbols can be hard to distinguish, and it took me a moment to identify the coasts. I don't even want to start interpreting this. There is, again, a strong inverse correlation between information and aesthetic of maps, though it is possible to break sometimes.

[mariacallous]

For more than three weeks, Gaza has faced an almost total internet blackout. The cables, cell towers, and infrastructure needed to keep people online have been damaged or destroyed as Israel launched thousands of missiles in response to Hamas attacking Israel and taking hundreds of hostages on October 7. Then, this evening, amid reports of heavy bombing in Gaza, some of the last remaining connectivity disappeared.

In the days after October 7, people living in Gaza have been unable to communicate with family or friends, leaving them unsure whether loved ones are alive. Finding reliable news about events has become harder. Rescue workers have not been able to connect to mobile networks, hampering recovery efforts. And information flowing out of Gaza, showing the conditions on the ground, has been stymied.

As the Israel Defense Forces said it was expanding its ground operations in Gaza this evening, internet connectivity fell further. Paltel, the main Palestinian communications company, has been able to keep some of its services online during Israel’s military response to Hamas’ attack. However, at around 7:30 pm local time today, internet monitoring firm NetBlocks confirmed a “collapse” in connectivity in the Gaza Strip, mostly impacting remaining Paltel services.

“We regret to announce a complete interruption of all communications and internet services within the Gaza Strip,” Paltel posted in a post on its Facebook page. The company claimed that bombing had “caused the destruction of all remaining international routes.” An identical post was made on the Facebook page of Jawwal, the region’s biggest mobile provider, which is owned by Paltel. Separately, Palestinian Red Crescent, a humanitarian organization, said on X (formerly Twitter) that it had lost contact with its operation room in Gaza and is “deeply concerned” about its ability to keep caring for people, with landline, cell, and internet connections being inaccessible.

“This is a terrifying development,” Marwa Fatafta, a policy manager focusing on the Middle East and North Africa at the digital rights group Access Now, tells WIRED. “Taking Gaza completely off the grid while launching an unprecedented bombardment campaign only means something atrocious is about to happen.”

A WIRED review of internet analysis data, social media posts, and Palestinian internet and telecom company statements shows how connectivity in the Gaza Strip drastically plummeted after October 7 and how some buildings linked to internet firms have been damaged in attacks. Photos and videos show sites that house various internet and telecom firms have been damaged, while reports from official organizations, including the United Nations, describe the impact of people being offline.

Damaged Lines

Around the world, the internet and telecoms networks that typically give web users access to international video calls, online banking, and endless social media are a complicated, sprawling mix of hardware and software. Networks of networks, combining data centers, servers, switches, and reams of cables, communicate with each other and send data globally. Local internet access is provided by a mix of companies with no clear public documentation of their infrastructure, making it difficult to monitor the overall status of the system as a whole. In Gaza, experts say, internet connectivity is heavily reliant on Israeli infrastructure to connect to the outside world.

Amid Israel’s intense bombing of Gaza, physical systems powering the internet have been destroyed. On October 10, the United Nations’ Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA), which oversees emergency responses, said air strikes “targeted several telecommunication installations” and had destroyed two of the three main lines of communications going into Gaza.

Prior to tonight’s blackout, internet connectivity remained but was “extremely slow and limited,” Access Now’s Fatafta says. People she has spoken to from Gaza say it could take a day to upload and send a few photos. “They have to send like 20 messages in order for one to go through,” Fatafta says. “They are desperately—especially for Gazans that live outside—trying to get through to their families.”

“Every time I try to call someone from family or friends, I try to call between seven to 10 times,” says Ramadan Al-Agha, a digital marketer who lives in Khan Yunis, a city in the south of the Gaza Strip. “The call may be cut off two or three times,” he told WIRED in a WhatsApp message before the latest outages. “We cannot access news quickly and clearly.” People in the region have simultaneously faced electricity blackouts, dwindling supplies of fuel used to power generators, and a lack of clean water, food, and medical supplies. “It is a humanitarian disaster,” Al-Agha says.

Connectivity in Gaza started to drop not long after Israel responded to the October 7 Hamas attack. Rene Wilhelm, a senior R&D engineer at the nonprofit internet infrastructure organization Ripe Network Coordination Center, says based on an analysis of internet routing data it collects that 11 Palestinian networks, which may operate both in the West Bank and Gaza Strip, began to experience disruption after October 7. Eight of the networks were no longer visible to the global internet as of October 23, Wilhelm says. Ahead of this evening’s blackout, there was around 15 percent of normal connectivity, according to data from Georgia Tech’s Internet Outage Detection and Analysis project. That dropped to around 7 percent as reports of the blackout circulated.

One office belonging to Paltel in the Al Rimal neighborhood of Gaza City has been destroyed in the attacks, photos and videos show. Floors have been destroyed and windows blown away in the multistory building, and piles of rubble surround the entrances. (It is unclear what equipment the building housed or how many floors Paltel occupied.) Another internet provider, AlfaNet, is listed as being based in the Al-Watan Tower. The company posted to its Facebook page on October 8 that the tower had been destroyed and its services have stopped, with other online posts also saying the tower has been destroyed.

Multiple Palestinian internet and telecoms firms have said their services have been disrupted during the war, mostly posting to social media. Internet provider Fusion initially said its engineers were trying to repair its infrastructure, although it has since said this is not continuing. “The network was destroyed, and the cables and poles were badly damaged by the bombing,” it wrote on Facebook. JetNet said there had been a “sudden disruption” to access points. SpeedClick posted that the situation was out of its control. And HiNet posted that it has “no more to offer to ensure” people could stay online following “the attacks and destruction our internet servers have suffered.”

Across Paltel’s network on October 19, according to an update shared by the Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, 83 percent of fixed line users had been disconnected, with 53 percent of sites providing fixed line connections also being offline. Half of the company’s fiber optic internet lines in Gaza weren’t operational, the update says. The connectivity disappeared this evening, according to Paltel’s Facebook post, which says there has been a “complete interruption” of all its services. Paltel, AlfaNet, Fusion, and SpeedClick could not be reached or did not respond to requests for comment.

Lost Connections

In recent years, governments and authoritarian regimes have frequently turned to shutting down the internet for millions of people in attempts to suppress protests and curtail free speech. Targeting the communications networks is common during conflicts. During Russia's war in Ukraine, its forces have decimated communications networks, tried to take over the internet, and set up new mobile companies to control information flows. When Hamas first attacked Israel on October 7, it used drones to bomb communications equipment at surveillance posts along the borders of the Gaza Strip.

Monika Gehner, the head of corporate communications at the International Telecommunication Union, says the body is always “alarmed” by damage inflicted on any telecommunications infrastructure during conflicts. The ITU, the United Nations’ primary internet governance body, believes “efficient telecommunication services” are crucial to peace and international cooperation, and its secretary-general has called for respecting infrastructure in the Middle East, Gehner says.

Officials in Israel have consistently claimed they are targeting Hamas militants within Gaza, not civilians, while responding to the Hamas attacks, which killed more than 1,400 people in Israel. The Hamas-run Health Ministry within Gaza has said more than 7,000 people have been killed there and released a list of names. A spokesperson for the Israel Defense Forces did not respond to WIRED’s questions about internet disruptions within Gaza.

Hanna Kreitem, a senior adviser for internet technology and development in the Middle East and North Africa at the Internet Society, an open internet advocacy nonprofit, says Palestinian firms have a “big reliance” on Israeli internet firms. “Palestinians are not controlling any of the ICT infrastructure,” says Mona Shtaya, a non-resident fellow at the Tahrir Institute for Middle East Policy. Mobile networks in the Gaza Strip rely on 2G technologies. Al-Agha, the digital marketer, shared a screenshot showing mobile internet speeds of 7.18 kilobytes per second; average mobile speeds in the US in 2022 were 24 megabits per second, according to mobile analytics firm Statista.

“The internet is vital in times of war in crises,” says Fatafta, the Access Now policy manager, who adds that there can be “terrible consequences” linked to connectivity blackouts. The UN’s OCHA said rescue workers have had a harder time “carrying out their mission” partly due to the “limited or no connection to mobile networks.” Al-Agha says he has lost some clients due to the disruptions. The lack of connectivity can obscure events that are happening on the ground, Fatafta says. News crews have told WIRED they have footage from the ground but are “losing the story because of the internet.”

Kreitem says that a lack of electricity and access to the equipment will have made an impact on top of any physical damage to communications networks. “We don't know how many of the people that actually operate these networks are still alive,” Kreitem says. “The network operators are part of the world there, there's no place for them to run. They are as affected as any other person.”

[mightyflamethrower]

"Embattled Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass has been ripped as the most “incompetent politician in America” after she managed to botch a fire emergency information website address by pointlessly telling locals to just visit “URL” — even while admitting the deadly firestorm is “the big one.”  Bass made the blunder as she stumbled her way through a press conference Wednesday soon after returning to the US, having already faced scorching criticism for traveling to Ghana as the wildfires ravaged her city and for slashing the fire department’s budget. 

“If you need help, emergency information, resources, and shelter is available. All of this can be found at URL,” the flailing mayor said as she read from a script.  […]  Her gaffe came as footage was going viral on social media of a stone-faced Bass refusing to answer questions when she finally returned to the US on Wednesday to find her city up in flames.

"Why does the Mayor of an American City need to travel (on the taxpayer's dime) to Africa. Was she finding more ways to waste our money?? Setting up accounts for her graft dollars?? Learning better ways to destroy a city?? What???"

[tangibletechnomancy]

I wonder how much corporate AI hype AND social media criti-hype would die down if we cracked down on companies that just straight up lie about what's their software's doing vs. what's just done by random underpaid guys in cubicle farms in India/Africa/South America/wherever else someone can find to exploit.

Like on the one hand we have corporate entities insisting that work is one and the same. On the other hand we have people who either believe that claim...OR who know that it's not and believe this means that there are random guys in cubicle farms hand-drawing these fully rendered images in 30 seconds or less, and think THAT belief is somehow more respectful to art as labor than acknowledging that the computer is a tool.

I believe companies, including both developers and end users, should be required to disclose which of their AI products/services-in-use have a manual override/control center, and which ones don't - and disclose it clearly, in plain view, not buried somewhere deep in the terms of service that someone might just skim over if they read it at all. On top of being a huge blow to false advertising, it would also be great for helping people make informed decisions, because there are different uses for things that are fully automated vs. things that are automated with integrated manual override; for some things, particularly some assistive applications (e.g., object recognition apps for blind people), it's better to have it able to go "I don't know what I'm looking at, let's call up a human to tell us", whereas for things like personal use tools it's really not great to have one's privacy violated by getting another person interfering unknowingly, and for things like utility chatbots - assuming we manage to get to a point where we can reliably give them enough context to hammer out enough of the hallucination issues that they become particularly useful at all - I would rather know for sure that the moment it's "confused", it will direct a customer to MY theoretical human customer support department rather than secretly try the provider company's call center first. Even more, it would also make it easier to fight for better treatment of the workers in those control centers; their labor being hidden to the point where the public, by design, broadly doesn't realize they even exist is a HUGE factor in their exploitation being allowed.

[rjzimmerman]

Excerpt from this media report from the Intergovernmental Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services:

Environmental, social and economic crises – such as biodiversity loss, water and food insecurity, health risks and climate change – are all interconnected. They interact, cascade and compound each other in ways that make separate efforts to address them ineffective and counterproductive.

A landmark new report was launched today by the Intergovernmental Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services (IPBES). The Assessment Report on the Interlinkages Among Biodiversity, Water, Food and Health – known as the Nexus Report - offers decision-makers around the world the most ambitious scientific assessment ever undertaken of these complex interconnections and explores more than five dozen specific response options to maximize co-benefits across five ‘nexus elements’: biodiversity, water, food, health and climate change.

Approved on Monday by the 11th session of the IPBES Plenary, composed of representatives of the 147 Governments that are members of IPBES, the report is the product of three years of work by 165 leading international experts from 57 countries from all regions of the world. It finds that existing actions to address these challenges fail to tackle the complexity of interlinked problems and result in inconsistent governance.

“We have to move decisions and actions beyond single-issue silos to better manage, govern and improve the impact of actions in one nexus element on other elements,” said Prof. Paula Harrison (United Kingdom), co-chair of the Assessment with Prof. Pamela McElwee (USA). “Take for example the health challenge of schistosomiasis (also known as bilharzia) – a parasitic disease that can cause life-long ill health and which affects more than 200 million people worldwide – especially in Africa. Treated only as a health challenge – usually through medication – the problem often recurs as people are reinfected. An innovative project in rural Senegal took a different approach – reducing water pollution and removing invasive water plants to reduce the habitat for the snails that host the parasitic worms that carry the disease – resulting in a 32% reduction in infections in children, improved access to freshwater and new revenue for the local communities.”

“The best way to bridge single issue silos is through integrated and adaptive decision-making. ‘Nexus approaches’ offer policies and actions that are more coherent and coordinated – moving us towards the transformative change needed to meet our development and sustainability goals,” said Prof. McElwee.

The report states that biodiversity – the richness and variety of all life on Earth – is declining at every level from global to local, and across every region. These ongoing declines in nature, largely as a result of human activity, including climate change, have direct and dire impacts on food security and nutrition, water quality and availability, health and wellbeing outcomes, resilience to climate change and almost all of nature’s other contributions to people.

Building on previous IPBES reports, in particular the 2022 Values Assessment Report and the 2019 Global Assessment Report, which identified the most important direct drivers of biodiversity loss, including land- and sea-use change, unsustainable exploitation, invasive alien species and pollution, the Nexus Report further underscores how indirect socioeconomic drivers, such as increasing waste, overconsumption and population growth, intensify the direct drivers – worsening impacts on all parts of the nexus. The majority of 12 assessed indicators across these indirect drivers – such as GDP, population levels and overall food supply, have all increased or accelerated since 2001.

“Efforts of Governments and other stakeholders have often failed to take into account indirect drivers and their impact on interactions between nexus elements because they remain fragmented, with many institutions working in isolation – often resulting in conflicting objectives, inefficiencies and negative incentives, leading to unintended consequences,” said Prof. Harrison.

[sammydigitaleu]

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[missblissylondion]

Belle Delphine, the 22-year-old internet personality, is known for her unique style, controversial stunts, and, of course, her cosplay. Belle has managed to create a persona that is both edgy and cute, and her fans can't get enough of her. She's amassed millions of followers across multiple social media platforms and has even broken into the mainstream media.

But what is it about Belle Delphine that has captured the attention of so many people? In this article, we'll take a closer look at Belle's rise to fame, her art and cosplay, and what makes her such an intriguing figure.

The Early Days of Belle Delphine

Belle Delphine was born Mary-Belle Kirschner on October 23, 1999, in South Africa. Her family later moved to England, where she grew up. Belle was always a creative child, and she developed an interest in cosplay and gaming at an early age. She created her first cosplay outfit when she was just 14 years old.

Belle Delphine's first foray into the world of social media came when she was still a teenager. She began posting photos of herself on Instagram, showcasing her cosplay and gaming skills. She quickly gained a following, and her fans loved her edgy, quirky style.

Belle Delphine's Rise to Fame

It wasn't until 2018, however, that Belle Delphine truly exploded onto the scene. That was the year she began posting her infamous "ahegao" photos, which show her making exaggerated facial expressions. These photos quickly went viral and sparked a debate about the sexualization of young women on social media.

Belle Delphine has been accused of exploiting her young fan base for financial gain, but she has always maintained that she's simply having fun and expressing herself creatively. She's been open about her struggles with mental health and has used her platform to raise awareness of these issues.

Despite the controversies surrounding her, Belle Delphine has managed to amass a huge following online. She's now one of the most popular internet personalities in the world, with millions of followers on Instagram, TikTok, and Twitter. She's also launched her own online store, where she sells everything from her infamous bathwater to her handmade cosplay outfits.

The Art and Cosplay of Belle Delphine

Belle Delphine is known for her unique style, which combines elements of cosplay, fashion, and edginess. She's created a persona that's both cute and sexy, and her fans can't get enough of her.

Belle's cosplay is a big part of her appeal. She's created a range of outfits based on popular characters from anime, manga, and video games, and her attention to detail is impressive. Her cosplay outfits are always handmade, and she often spends hours perfecting the details to ensure they're as accurate as possible.

But Belle's art is about more than just cosplay. She's also created a range of other content that's gained her a huge following. Her music videos, for example, are filled with references to popular memes and internet culture. Her artwork is often inspired by anime and manga, and she's even launched her own manga series, "The Bunny's Tales."

Belle Delphine's art and cosplay have sparked a new trend on social media. Many young women are now following in Belle's footsteps, creating their own cosplay outfits and posting them online. Belle has become a role model for a new generation of internet creators, inspiring them to express themselves creatively and push boundaries.

[cypher2]

2023 Women's World Cup records

In addition to breaking numerous worldwide social media and viewing records, the 2023 Women's World Cup set and broke a number of unique tournament records as well. The players and teams that participated in this WWC should all feel extremely proud for the history they have made. Their performances continue to show the world that these athletes are capable of so much more than they are ever fully recognized for.

First team from their nation to qualify for a men’s or women’s senior FIFA tournament: Vietnam WNT 8 nations had their debuts for first time appearing in a FIFA women’s World Cup: Haiti, Portugal, Zambia, Vietnam, The Philippines, Republic of Ireland, Morocco, and Panama. Canadian midfielder Quinn starts for Canada and becomes the first non-binary athlete to play at a FIFA World Cup.

Christine Sinclair (Canada) and Marta (Brazil) become the 3rd and 4th players in history to appear in 6 World Cup competitions men or women, with Homare Sawa (Japan) and Onome Zeno (Nigeria) being the other two. The player with the record for most world cup appearances in history remains Brazil’s Formiga, the only player to compete in 7 world cups (men or women).

Kristine Lilly still holds the record for most WC appearances by men or women with 30 games played - a record set and held since 2007. Followed by Formiga with 27 as of 2019 and Lionel Messi with 26 as of 2022. Brazil’s Marta still holds the all time leading record for most goals scored across all World Cup competitions with 17 goals in 23 appearances across 6 tournaments.

Zambia’s Lushomo Mweemba scores the fastest goal of this year’s tournament in group stage at 2min 11 sec, also marking Zambia’s first ever world cup goal in their debut. The fastest goal in a FIFA Women’s World Cup has stood for over 30 years - it remains the goal scored by Lena Videkull of Sweden, who scored after just 30 seconds against Japan in the inaugural 1991 tournament. Zambia’s Barbra Banda scores the 1000th goal in WWC history. Nouhaila Benzina of Morocco becomes the first Women’s World Cup player to wear a hijab.

Ary Borges of Brazil scores a hat trick in her WWC debut and the first hat trick of the tournament. First Caribbean nation to reach the round of 16 in WWC history - Jamaica First Arab nation to qualify for a WWC and reach the round of 16 in WWC history - Morocco Of the eight debutants, Morocco was the only one to advance to the round of 16. Two teams reached the round of 16 having conceded no goals so far in the tournament- Japan and Jamaica.

First time four African nations have been represented at a WWC with three of them qualifying for the knock out stage at this years competition - South Africa, Morocco, and Nigeria. 3 of the 4 African nations appearing in this year’s WWC all finished 2nd in their groups (Morocco, South Africa, and Nigeria). The US suffered its earliest elimination in WWC history, getting knocked out in the round of 16. The U.S. has never finished below 3rd place in all previous editions of the competition. Sweden’s Zećira Mušović sets a new record for most saves in any WWC 2023 game with 11 saves vs the US in the round of 16.

First manager to lead two different nations to a World Cup final (Netherlands and England)- Sarina Wiegman First goalkeeper to take and convert a PK in a WWC penalty shootout - Alyssa Naeher

Golden ball (best overall player of the tournament) - Aitana Bonmatí Silver ball - Jenni Hermoso Bronze ball - Amanda Ilestedt Golden boot (most goals scored in the tournament) - Hinata Miyazawa (5 goals) Silver boot - Kadidiatou Diani Bronze boot - Alexandra Popp Golden glove (best goalkeeper of the tournament) - Mary Earps

FIFA young player award (best player of the tournament under 21 years old) - Salma Paralluelo FIFA fair play award (team with best record of fair play during the tournament) - Japan Best mascot of the tournament (unofficial) - Waru Longest penalty shootout in World Cup history (20 penalties taken) - Australia vs France quarter final

The 2023 competition was hosted by Australia and New Zealand, making it the first edition to be held in the Southern Hemisphere, the first Women's World Cup to be hosted by two countries, and the first FIFA senior competition for either men or women to be held across two confederations (Asia and Oceanic).

First edition of the women’s tournament to feature an expansion to 32 teams and 64 matches, and largest women’s sporting event in history with 32 teams and 736 players. Only team to play all matches (group stage + knockout) undefeated with a 6-0-0 record - England All 4 previous winner nations (US, Germany, Norway, and Japan) were eliminated before the semifinal stage, marking the first time this has happened in the competition’s history.

For the first time in its 32 year and 9 tournament history, the WWC has a new champion (Spain) and new runner up (England) in 2023, with both nations never having made it to the final stage before. Only the 2nd nation in history to win both a men’s and women’s World Cup - Spain Top scoring country at the 2023 WWC - Spain with 18 goals First time a senior English football team has made it to a WC final in 6 decades - England WNT

First time advancing past quarterfinals in their WWC history and first host nation to advance to semifinals in 20 years - Australia placed 4th place for best in all 8 WWC competitions they’ve participated in and broke attendance records through all stages of the tournament, with an overall stadium attendance across all matches at 1.978 million. More than 1.5 million tickets were sold for the WWC, surpassing the entire tournament’s projected target in the first 5 days alone.

Two attendance records were broken for both host nations on day one of the WWC - largest crowd ever for a men’s or women’s football game in New Zealand (42,137) and largest crowd ever for a women’s football game in Australia (75,784).

Brazil's opening match v Panama was simulcast live on TV Globo and SporTV, delivering a combined audience of 13.9 million viewers - higher than any audience in the territory during the 2007, 2011, and 2015 WWC. China v England produced the highest audience for a single match, reaching 53.9 million viewers, becoming the highest in any global market so far. 17.15 million people tuned into the Australia v England semifinal cumulatively across Channel 7, Optus Sport, venues, and live-sites, comprising approx 64% of the entire Australian population - the biggest television event not just in any sport in the country, but in Australia’s television history.

The record for highest single match attendance still remains the 1999 WWC final between the US and China with 90,185 in attendance - a number that hasn’t been reached since the men’s tournament at the 1994 WC final between Italy and Brazil at 94,194.

The largest 2023 attendances were at Stadium Australia in Sydney, which saw four capacity-crowd fixtures, including Australia's opening win over Republic of Ireland and the final between Spain and England. The crowd of 75,784 was a record home audience for a women's football match in Australia and the third largest individual crowd attendance in Women's World Cup history. Over 50% of all matches had near sell out or at stadium capacity with a total of 1,977,824 fans in attendance at the 64 games in total, setting a new record for highest overall attendance in Women’s World Cup history across all 9 editions of the tournament. Highest grossing Women’s World Cup in history with a revenue of over half a billion dollars ($570 million), surpassing the projected revenue estimate by $100 million.

[justinspoliticalcorner]

Dean Obeidallah at The Dean's Report:

Donald Trump doesn’t care that his lie accusing Haitian immigrants in Springfield, Ohio of eating people’s pets is causing a spike in anti-immigrant hate incidents in the area or was the reason for a bomb threats Thursday morning targeting the local government and local schools on Friday. It also doesn’t matter if you fact check Trump on this BS claim. This is not about the truth. Nobody—I mean nobody—understands what animates, radicalizes and incites his base to vote, make threats and commit violence more than Trump. That is why he is targeting both Black people and immigrants with his lies. This is racism for a purpose.  He gets that with one lie, he is targeting two communities that MAGA hates: Blacks and immigrants.  

As we all recall, Trump--as President--slammed the idea of accepting more immigrants from Haiti and Africa calling them “shithole countries.” Instead, Trump stated he wanted more people coming in from places like Norway aka white people. Trump’s base loved that. That is why during the debate Tuesday, Trump repeatedly fear-mongered about non-white people coming over the border, declaring, “What they have done to our country by allowing these millions and millions of people to come into our country.” He then added the now infamous line, “In Springfield, they're eating the dogs…they're eating the cats. They're eating the pets of the people that live there.”

ABC News co-moderator David Muir instantly fact checked Trump saying “ABC News did reach out to the city manager there. He told us there have been no credible reports” of any animals being treated that way by immigrants. But Trump remained defiant, saying, “But the people on television say their dog was eaten by the people that went there.” When Muir factchecked Trump again, he then offered this ominous line, “We'll find out.”  Trump’s lie at the debate about Haitian immigrants was something his base has been worked up about for days—as Trump knows. The first prominent right winger to amplify the lie was Trump’s close ally Charlie Kirk—who has a history of making racist comments about Blacks--posting just days before the debate on Twitter that “residents of Springfield, OH are reporting that Haitians are eating their family pets.” His post was viewed more than 4 million times.

Trump’s son, Donald Jr. then amplified the lie on social media that Black migrants were kidnapping and eating people’s cats and dogs. Next Elon Musk -the owner of Twitter and vocal Trump backer--did the same. That got the attention of the Trump campaign.  If the MAGA base believes/loves the claim Black immigrants are such savages that they are eating people’s pets, they were going to join.  That is why on Monday, Trump’s running mate JD Vance claimed in his post viewed more than 10 million times that “reports now show people have had their pets abducted and eaten by people who shouldn’t be in this country.” A short time later on Monday, as the NY Times reported, the Trump campaign did a massive email blast to their supporters quoting the lie about the Black immigrants.

[...] In reality, Springfield residents have overall been welcoming to the Haitian immigrants to their community over the past four years.  Jamie McGregor the head of McGregor Metal, a family-owned business in Springfield, told The New York Times how it was lacking workers after it had invested to increase production before "the Haitians were there to fill those positions." Joe Ruck, a co-owner of Champion City Cuts Barber Shop, told USA Today that Haitian immigrants are working the jobs no one else wanted. But Trump’s lies have embolden the haters in Springfield. As Newsweek documented, there has now been a surge in vile comments directed online and in person against Springfield’s Haitian community. A 19-year-old, who graduated from Springfield High School and now works at an Amazon warehouse said he has been called a "dirty Haitian" and an "illegal."   

[...] Despite many officials warning that Trump’s lie will lead to violence against the Haitian community or Blacks in general, he refuses to stop. On Thursday night in the midst of this backlash and after the bomb threats, Trump again repeated the lie to his supporters at a rally in Arizona, telling them “20,000 illegal Haitian immigrants have descended on a town of 58,000 people, destroying their way of life.” (The Haitians in Springfield are in the US legally.) The convicted felon added the lie that these migrants are “walking off with their pets.” And earlier on Thursday, Trump posted five digitally doctored photos on social media of himself saving pets from migrants—including the racist image at the top of this article where Trump is saving a white cat from angry Black people.

Dean Obeidallah’s column on the Springfield Cat-Eating Hoax is spot-on. Donald Trump, JD Vance, and the right-wing media’s racist and xenophobic scapegoating of Haitian migrants has led to bomb threats and a rise in anti-immigrant hatred in Springfield, Ohio.

[thepastisalreadywritten]

By Marcia Dunn

Updated 9:45 PM, 11 May 2024

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. (AP) — An unusually strong solar storm hitting Earth produced stunning displays of color in the skies across the Northern Hemisphere early Saturday, with no immediate reports of disruptions to power and communications.

The U.S. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration issued a rare severe geomagnetic storm warning when a solar outburst reached Earth on Friday afternoon, hours sooner than anticipated.

The effects of the Northern Lights, which were prominently on display in Britain, were due to last through the weekend and possibly into next week.

Many in the U.K. shared phone snaps of the lights on social media early Saturday, with the phenomenon seen as far south as London and southern England.

"There were sightings from top to tail across the country,” said Chris Snell, a meteorologist at the Met Office, Britain’s weather agency.

He added that the office received photos and information from other European locations including Prague and Barcelona.

NOAA alerted operators of power plants and spacecraft in orbit, as well as the Federal Emergency Management Agency, to take precautions.

“For most people here on planet Earth, they won’t have to do anything,” said Rob Steenburgh, a scientist with NOAA’s Space Weather Prediction Center.

The storm could produce northern lights as far south in the U.S. as Alabama and Northern California, NOAA said.

But it was hard to predict and experts stressed it would not be the dramatic curtains of color normally associated with the northern lights, but more like splashes of greenish hues.

“That’s really the gift from space weather: the aurora,” Steenburgh said.

He and his colleagues said the best aurora views may come from phone cameras, which are better at capturing light than the naked eye.

"Snap a picture of the sky and there might be actually a nice little treat there for you,” said Mike Bettwy, operations chief for the prediction center.

The most intense solar storm in recorded history — in 1859 — prompted auroras in central America and possibly even Hawaii.

“We are not anticipating that but it could come close," NOAA space weather forecaster Shawn Dahl said.

This storm poses a risk for high-voltage transmission lines for power grids, not the electrical lines ordinarily found in people’s homes, Dahl told reporters.

Satellites also could be affected, which in turn could disrupt navigation and communication services here on Earth.

An extreme geomagnetic storm in 2003, for example, took out power in Sweden and damaged power transformers in South Africa.

Even when the storm is over, signals between GPS satellites and ground receivers could be scrambled or lost, according to NOAA.

But there are so many navigation satellites that any outages should not last long, Steenburgh noted.

The sun has produced strong solar flares since Wednesday, resulting in at least seven outbursts of plasma.

Each eruption, known as a coronal mass ejection, can contain billions of tons of plasma and magnetic field from the sun’s outer atmosphere, or corona.

The flares seem to be associated with a sunspot that’s 16 times the diameter of Earth, NOAA said.

It is all part of the solar activity ramping up as the sun approaches the peak of its 11-year cycle.

NASA said the storm posed no serious threat to the seven astronauts aboard the International Space Station.

The biggest concern is the increased radiation levels, and the crew could move to a better shielded part of the station if necessary, according to Steenburgh.

Increased radiation also could threaten some of NASA’s science satellites.

Extremely sensitive instruments will be turned off, if necessary, to avoid damage, said Antti Pulkkinen, director of the space agency’s heliophysics science division.

Several sun-focused spacecraft are monitoring all the action.

“This is exactly the kinds of things we want to observe,” Pulkkinen said.

[mariacallous]

Little did wannabe warlord and catering magnate Yevgeny Prigozhin realize his short-lived mutiny would result in his demise, leaving behind a legacy—and admirers—far beyond Russia’s borders, particularly in China, where Prigozhin has become a cult figure on closely monitored social media.

Prigozhin’s following among top military bloggers on Weibo, one of the largest social media platforms in China, mirrors that in Russia. From Moscow to Beijing, Prigozhin is seen as the embodiment of a more vigorous and genuine patriotism, a man who prioritized the motherland’s interests over his own life. He is celebrated as a man of the people, despite the wealth he generated from the Wagner Group’s operations.

His blunt criticism of Russia’s top military leaders bolstered his image as a truth-teller willing to risk his life. This resonated in China, where a purge of top military officials in the People’s Liberation Army is underway due to accusations of corruption and of betraying the ideals of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP).

Amid rising tension between Beijing and Washington, many Chinese military bloggers suspect U.S. involvement in Prigozhin’s death, despite there being no evidence of this. A poll on Weibo, limited to 1,000 respondents, showed a majority asserting that the United States orchestrated Prigozhin’s plane crash to incite civil war in Russia. A smaller number of voters pointed the finger at Russian President Vladimir Putin, stating that allowing Prigozhin to walk away unpunished could set a dangerous precedent.

Affection for the Wagner Group is seen by the CCP as a double-edged sword in online Chinese debate. On the one hand, it illustrates the need for empowered Chinese private security companies that protect Chinese citizens and infrastructure abroad. On the other hand, it raises the specter of heavily armed security professionals pursuing a domestic political agenda.

China’s leading security pundits—academics, former military officials, and amateur bloggers—are enamored by the Wagner Group’s bravado and attitude of getting things done no matter what. They argue that the current Chinese approach to the protection of Chinese interests overseas is passive and advocate for more assertive, Wagner-style tactics. The setbacks in counterterrorism operations in Mozambique and the recent slaughter of Wagner operators by Malian Tuareg rebels have largely gone unnoticed. Some bloggers, with several million followers each, see Wagner as the model for Chinese private security companies protecting Belt and Road projects and infrastructure across the globe in high-risk areas.

From Asia to Africa, Chinese overseas workers are facing rising threats, with kidnappings and deaths becoming more frequent. In March 2023, nine Chinese nationals were killed when gunmen attacked a mine in the Central African Republic. Just a year later, in March 2024, five Chinese engineers were killed in a suicide bombing in Pakistan, and another such attack occurred this month, leading Beijing to call for more security. Moreover, Chinese security bloggers’ praise of Prigozhin and his mercenaries as liberators who were a more effective fighting force than the Russian military in Ukraine amounts to a veiled stab at top managers of China’s military-industrial complex, who were fired for accepting bribes and producing low-quality military equipment.

Therefore, it appears likely that China’s strict social media filtering allows such commentary intentionally, as it aligns with the government’s agenda. However, the boundaries of acceptable online discourse can shift suddenly, posing a risk for bloggers if Beijing’s stance on Wagner or the military changes abruptly.

Registered by Weibo with their government-issued IDs and legally responsible for the blogs, the pundits and analysts reflect one strand of government thinking. China’s Great Firewall keeps references to Wagner focused on Ukraine, but the group’s activities in Africa and the Middle East are also mentioned.

Online Chinese discussion frames Wagner’s African operations as support for decolonization and the countering of the West’s neocolonial approach and influence on the continent—basically copy-pasting Russian rhetoric. One commentator, blaming France for turmoil in Mali, took the West to task by asserting that Wagner combats “terrorism and separatism and embodies humanism.” Another microblogger suggested that China would be better off having a Blackwater equivalent rather than a Wagner Group one because “reputation is more important than anything else” and Chinese nationals would not be allowed to perpetrate the kinds of atrocities attributed to the Russian group.

From a Western perspective, this situation may seem perplexing because Blackwater, following the Nisour Square massacre in Iraq, had a notoriously terrible reputation. However, in China, Erik Prince, the founder of Blackwater, partnered with the state-owned financial giant CITIC to establish the security company Frontier Services Group in Hong Kong. As a result, the widespread global outrage and discussions surrounding Blackwater employees’ killing of Iraqi civilians never reached the broader Chinese public.

The online discussions highlight the fork in the road in which China has to determine the future trajectory of its private security companies. Influential military bloggers with millions of followers see Wagner as a model for the Chinese military and private security industry. They argue that Beijing must develop more assertive companies capable of protecting overseas Chinese nationals and investments. At the same time, there is concern that private security personnel could become an armed, uncontrollable force when they return from overseas service.

This dichotomy between ambition and fear is reflected in the portrayal of Prigozhin as a cult figure in online debates. A nuanced reading reveals Chinese netizens’ concerns about and interests in the Russia-Ukraine war, highlighting several peculiarities. Notably, Prigozhin is seen in China more as a successful CEO than as a wannabe warlord or military strategist, as is often the case elsewhere.

The Chinese public tends to prefer a businesslike approach to the militarization of security functions. In China, rising from humble beginnings to become a billionaire, despite the CCP’s call for moderation, is often viewed as a sign of tactical acumen and shrewdness. Unlike in Russia—where bloggers focus on debating Prigozhin’s military strategies—in China, Prigozhin’s business success remains a key attraction for his followers.

Supporters of the Wagner model still perpetuate the group’s aura of invincibility. One blogger recalled Wagner rescuing Chinese miners in the Central African Republic in July 2023 at the request of the Chinese Embassy. The group found the miners in a forest and “provided them with food, shelter, and security protection” before escorting them to the capital. Chinese public opinion largely matches the view that is prevalent in the swath of land stretching from the Central African Republic to Niger, inundated by Russian propaganda and disinformation that makes no mention of mass slaughters and gender-based violence, and perceives Wagner mercenaries as liberators rather than oppressors.

In life, Prigozhin served Putin by keeping the military’s top brass in check. In death, the Prigozhin myth in Russia is a useful catalyst that directs anger at the military instead of the president and inspires future Wagner recruits. In China, even among Wagner’s biggest boosters, Putin’s description of Prigozhin as a “talented person” who “made serious mistakes in life” remains a warning for Chinese private security entrepreneurs not to cross the party’s red line.

Years ago, a similar debate erupted on Weibo, calling for reforms in China’s private security sector, inspired by the rise of Blackwater. These reforms never took shape—and they are unlikely to materialize now as envisioned by Wagner fans. Even with Wagner’s perceived success, the CCP guards its monopoly on force tightly, with the Maoist principle that the party must control the gun still firmly in place.

The myth of Prigozhin, even within China’s strict narrative control, serves a dual purpose: It fuels ambitions for a stronger, tightly regulated Chinese private security sector while also acting as a cautionary tale about the dangers of contractors turning on their own leaders.

[dua1999]

Start a Business in Dubai with Low Investment

Dubai has emerged as a global business hub, providing immense opportunities for entrepreneurs with various budgets. With the right approach and strategy, it's possible to establish a successful business in Dubai with low investment. Here’s a quick guide on how to get started and make the most of Dubai’s business-friendly environment.

Benefits of Starting a Business in Dubai

Dubai offers numerous advantages for new businesses:

Strategic Location: Dubai connects Europe, Asia, and Africa, making it a perfect base for international trade.

Free Zones: Dubai’s free zones allow full foreign ownership, tax exemptions, and streamlined processes.

Low Taxation: With no personal or corporate tax for most types of businesses, Dubai is financially favorable.

Steps to Start a Business in Dubai with Low Investment

Choose the Right Business Setup in Dubai To maximize investment, consider starting your business in one of Dubai's free zones. They offer affordable packages tailored for entrepreneurs and small businesses. Popular free zones like DMCC, IFZA, and Meydan Free Zone provide cost-effective licensing options.

Select a Business Activity Start with a service-based business, which requires minimal capital. Freelance services, consultancy, digital marketing, and online trading are popular low-cost options. These require lower initial investment compared to retail or manufacturing.

Leverage Virtual Office Options Dubai’s free zones offer flexible office solutions, including virtual offices, which allow businesses to maintain a presence in Dubai without incurring high rental costs.

Obtain the Necessary Licenses Every business setup in Dubai requires a license, depending on the activity and location. Free zone authorities offer various affordable licensing packages, including freelancer licenses for individual entrepreneurs.

Market Smartly and Efficiently Use digital marketing to reach customers on a budget. Social media, SEO, and email marketing can help you attract customers without high advertising costs.

Best Low-Investment Business Ideas in Dubai

Consultancy Services: If you have expertise in a field like finance, legal, or management, starting a consultancy can be highly profitable.

E-commerce: Launch an online store and leverage Dubai’s growing digital market.

Digital Marketing Agency: With minimal equipment and a small team, you can help local businesses grow their online presence.

Freelancing: From content creation to graphic design, freelancing offers flexibility and requires a minimal investment.

Conclusion

Starting a business setup in Dubai with low investment is entirely feasible, given the city’s supportive infrastructure and numerous free zones. With the right planning, selecting cost-effective options, and focusing on low-cost business ideas, you can launch a successful venture in Dubai without breaking the bank. Dubai’s dynamic market, combined with low taxation and robust growth prospects, makes it a prime choice for aspiring entrepreneurs.

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[amberarmedheart]

The Color Of Makeup

It had always been difficult for me to find the proper color of foundation that goes with my skin color. Whenever I used to go to the stores, back in the early 2000s when i started high school and I had learned the hard way how cruel the world can be, they never ever had my shade. One store after another, one counter after another, and I simply couldn't find them... in the usual markets, that is.

If I wanted more affordable, regular brands, they never carried my shade. But if I really, really wanted to match it, I had to go to an expensive department store to actually get the exact shade that didn't make me look ashy or weird.

And from the very first moment, I was fine with it. Why? Well, it is quite simple: I am pale as an uncooked flour tortillas and I am a Mexican living in Mexico.

It was obvious to me that the usual supermarkets didn't carry my shade, the percentage of the population that has my exact skin color is quite small, so of course it would be difficult for me to find it. My grandparents, after all, were a wild mix: Mexican, Spanish, Chinese, and French. Why the hell did the genetic lottery decide I was to be born with a white pale butt, I will never know. Yes, my dad was white, but my mother has brown skin, and so did two of my grandparents, and then there was my grandmother with a French last name and green eyes and platinum blonde hair.

What bothered me since I was a kid was the fact that I looked around and most people around me had brown skin and yet, whenever I looked at a magazine, an ad, a movie or a tv show, everyone there was white, nine times out of ten. It bothered me whenever some of my aunts would start describing someone as "oh she is so pretty, you know, she is white and blonde and..." and how some of my uncles would say "of course you wouldn't want your daughter to date a black man"... and every single time, those aunts and uncles with the most racist views ended up having dark skin themselves.

I don't know how, in the middle of such a harmful environment, both of my parents managed to have an entirely different perception of the world, but I am grateful for it. And yet, I know that a lot of the hate and anger that my extended family expressed towards other people due to the color of their skin had a lot to do with the messages that the media taught them since they were children. How difficult it must be for a child to grow loving the way they look when the tv and movies always say that dark skinned people are the bad ones and even the church will portrait angels as blonde.

And yet, the idea that "the others" are "scary, different, dangerous" is always perpetuated by major pieces of media: the most recent one, at least in my sphere of interests, is Genshin Impact, which recently released a teaser trailer for a new region called Natlan. This region has been mentioned as one that draws inspiration from Latin America and Africa... and the darkest skinned character in it looks like me after ten minutes under the desert sun.

"It is a fantasy game, why should it be accurate?" some person who knows exactly why asks in bad faith in social media, to which you and I both know that if there is a damned playable dog boy, they can add at least three more drops of brown to their palette.

"Why can't you empathize with characters that don't have the same skin color as you?" asks someone else with an ai generated profile picture and a cross and a flag emojis following their nickname, to which I say: why can't you? 99% of the characters portrayed in the media you consume are the exact same ethnicity as you, and every single time someone slightly different appears, you will scream "DEI! Woke! They are ruining everything!" The rest of the world has had to swallow every single "white savior" piece of media up to this day, why can't you stop spitting for once, there's half a child there you know, I thought you were against abortions.

"It is only being inspired!" someone else screams, red faced, into the void, to which I say that if you are taking name and surname from a deity to represent said deity and the color motifs and tattoos and even reference their powers but the only thing you don't take from them is their skin color, that's colorism.

Next thing I know, Hoyoverse will try to copyright the Mayans, you know, like Disney tried to copyright Dia De Muertos back before it released Coco.

I am old and exhausted about life as it is, I am tired of the constant cycle of fear that politicians and multinational companies use everywhere to divide the people, draw targets on each others' backs and then point and scream "they are the reason you are suffering, not me, never me!". I am tired of people swallowing it up because it is way easier to punch someone "different" to a pulp than recognize that both of us have the same enemy and the same source of suffering and that what we should do to fix this mess requires of a lot more effort than picking one color in a ballot every four years.